Victims invited to church trial

Letters are to be sent to abuse victims in the Diocese of Cloyne in the coming weeks asking if they would like to participate in a secret church trial that will hear evidence against a North Cork priest accused of 11 counts of abuse.

This canonical trial, which is likely to be held after Easter, could lead to the defrocking of the priest, known as Fr Ronat in the Cloyne Report.

Eight garda files against the priest were sent to the DPP’s office but he has never been convicted of sexual abuse in court. The complaints against him, and the diocese’s mishandling of them, constituted the largest chapter in Judge Yvonne Murphy’s report.